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The military court's appeals court sentenced the perpetrator to sexually harassing the late Air Force Sgt.

The bereaved family of Sgt. Ye-ram Lee burst into tears.



Correspondent Kim Kwan-jin.



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The father of the late Sergeant Ye-Ram Lee, who left the courtroom, screams.



[Lee Joo-wan / late Sergeant Lee Ye-ram's father: I'm in a feeling of hopelessness, so why did the final high court make such a result like this?] 



My mother was sobbing and eventually fainted. 



The High Military Court of the Ministry of National Defense sentenced him to 7 years in prison at the appeals trial against the appointment of Sgt.



He is 2 years less than 1 Sim.



The court stated that the reason for the reduction of the sentence was that the responsibility for the death of Sgt. Lee could not be attributed to Sgt. Jang alone.



"It seems that the main reason for the extreme choice is that the victim suffered psychological pain, such as not being protected by the military." 



As to whether the text message suggesting suicide sent by Sergeant Jang saying he apologized to Sgt. Lee was a threat of retaliation, the second trial judged not guilty as in the first instance, saying that the intention to inflict harm could not be acknowledged. 



[Lee Joo-wan / late Sgt. Lee Ye-ram's father: Even if our sons and daughters die like this by the military trial, in the end there is no choice but to come out with a verdict for these perpetrators...

.] 



If either party appeals, a Supreme Court trial will take place, but the sentence will not be set again. 



[Kang Seok-min / Attorney: The appeals court once again considered the reasons for sentencing in the lower court and commuting the sentence as a reason for sentencing, obviously, there is no choice but to refute the special prosecutor's investigation and hold back the bereaved family...

.] 



The Higher Military Court, which gave a ruling today (14th), will be abolished next month. 



With this sergeant incident as an opportunity, there was a change in the closed military judicial system where the controversy surrounding the perpetrator never ceased. 



From July, cases of sexual assault and death in the military will be tried by the civilian courts from the first instance, and the rest of the cases will be tried by the Seoul High Court for the second instance. 



(Video coverage: Han Il-sang, Seol Min-hwan, video editing: Park Ki-duk)